ADDRESSED  TO 


THE  PROPRIETORS  OF  REAL  ESTATE, 


IN  THE 

CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

e 

7?F  J  LANDHOLDER. 

"  I'm  glad  to  hear  there's  a  hill,"  said  Jeanie,  "  for  baith  my  sight  and  my  very  feet  are 
weary  o'  sic  tracks  o'  level  ground — it  looks  a'  the  way  between  this  and  York  as  if  a'  the 
land  had  been  trenched  and  levelled."— Heart  of  Mid-Lothian. 


NEW-YORK : 

PUBLISHED  BY  J.  EASTBURN  AND  CO. 
LITERARY  ROOMS,  BROADWAY. 
Clayton  k  Kingsland,  Print. 


1818. 


?£x  IGtbrts 

SEYMOUR  DURST 

FORT    NEW   AMSTERDAM  >VBj5ftf                     VOBK  )  ,  1651 

T^ben  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Sver'thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 

Avery  Arc  hitectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
(in  1  01  Si  ymour  B.  Di  rsi  01  i)  York  Library 

AS  the  proceedings  relative  to  the  regulation  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Greenwich  form  a  prominent  part  of  the  following 
statement,  the  writer  thinks  it  proper  to  mention  that  he 
was  not  one  of  those  who  petitioned  or  remonstrated  against 
that  regulation.  Nor  did  he  see  the  memorial  to  the  legis- 
lature, or  the  remonstrance  to  the  corporation,  until  after  they 
had  been  presented.  It  is  not,  however,  his  design,  to  inti- 
mate that  he  is  an  indifferent  spectator  of  the  proceedings  of 
our  corporation.  On  the  contrary,  he  freely  confesses  that 
he  is  deeply  interested  in  them ;  and  that,  were  it  not  for 
f  this  interest,  he  would  probably  not  have  been  patriotic 

enough  to  attempt  the  following  investigation. 

But,  after  this  confession,  it  is  hoped  that  those  who  think 
it  possible  for  a  person  to  represent  with  fairness  that  in 
which  he  feels  an  interest,  will  weigh  and  examine  with  im- 
partiality the  matters  herein  set  forth. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


http://archive.org/details/plainstatementadOOmoor 


A  PLAIN  STATEMENT. 


The  expenses,  inconveniences  and  oppressions 
attendant  upon  the  opening  and  regulating  of 
avenues  and  streets,  have  long  been  a  subject 
of  bitter  complaint  among  the  owners  and  occu- 
pants of  real  estate  in  this  city  and  county  of 
New-York.  Indeed,  so  general  does  this  feeling 
of  oppression  appear  to  be,  that  it,  at  first  sight, 
seems  wonderful  that  the  citizens  should  not, 
long  since,  have  taken  measures  to  relieve  them- 
selves from  so  grievous  a  burden.  This  apparent 
inconsistency,  however,  may  easily  be  accounted 
for. 

In  the  first  place,  these  evils  are  not  endured 
by  very  large  masses  of  the  community  at  once. 
The  public  authority  directs,  from  time  to  time, 
certain  parts  only  of  the  territory  under  its  juris- 
diction to  be  regulated.  This  regulation  may 
go  near  to  ruin  the  persons  who  suffer  under  it ; 
but  the  voice  of  a  few  interested  individuals  is 
naturally  heard  with  distrust,  when  opposed  to 
that  of  the  municipal  authority.    And  the  only 


6 


consolation  which  may  be  expected,  in  such  a 
case,  is,  to  be  informed  that  private  convenience 
must  give  way  to  public  good.  Thus  the  suffer- 
ers are  obliged  to  submit;  and  after  they  have 
paid  their  quota  of  assessments,  and  have  risen 
or  sunk  to  their  permanent  station  on  the  face  of 
the  earth,  they  are  glad  to  rest  from  their  vexa- 
tions ;  and,  although  they  continue  to  cry  out 
against  their  oppressors,  and  to  relate  their 
grievances  with  much  anger  and  indignation, 
yet  they  care  little  about  the  like  sufferings  of 
others ;  and,  perhaps,  in  some  instances,  feel  a 
secret  pleasure  in  seeing  their  neighbours  take 
their  turn  of  oppression.  This  is  human  nature. 
It  is  evident  that  thus  the  possessors  of  real  es- 
tate may  be  oppressed  in  succession,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent them  from  rising  in  a  mass,  and  endeavour- 
ing to  throw  off  their  grievances. 

In  the  next  place,  a  large  class  of  men  are 
naturally  in  favour  of  all  measures  which  serve 
to  afford  employment  to  the  labouring  part  of  the 
community,  at  the  expense  of  the  owners  of  real 
estate.  The  cartmen,  carpenters,  masons,  pa- 
vers, and  all  their  host  of  attendant  labourers, 
would  find  their  account  in  having  the  streets  of 
the  city  yearly  ploughed  up,  and  dug  down,  and 
filled  in,  and  in  having  the  houses  pulled  to  pieces 
and  rebuilt  as  fast  as  hands  could  be  found  and 
money  obtained  for  these  purposes.  Although 
this  would  be  a  real  waste  of  time  and  labour  to 


1 


the  community,  and  would  eventually  tend  to  its 
general  impoverishment,  yet  the  hands  employed 
in  the  work  of  destruction  and  renovation  would 
find  it  a  source  of  present  emolument;  and,  of 
course,  would  believe,  with  the  utmost  sincerity, 
such  measures  to  be  for  the  good  of  society  at 
large. 

Another,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  the  most  pre- 
vailing reason  why  no  remedy  has  been  applied 
to  the  evils  complained  of,  is,  that  few  individuals 
in  the  community  have  inquired  into  the  depth, 
extent  and  consequences  of  those  evils. 

It  is  this  last  reason  which  has  chiefly  encou- 
raged the  writer  of  these  pages  to  attempt  a  re- 
view of  the  powers  of  our  corporation,  with  re- 
spect to  the  opening  and  regulating  of  avenues 
and  streets,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  those 
powers  are  exercised;  to  point  out  the  evils 
which  are  apparent  in  the  whole  system,  consi- 
dered merely  as  a  theory ;  and  to  show  the  mis- 
chiefs which  have  actually  resulted  and  which 
must  continue  to  arise  from  its  application  to 
practice.  After  thus  laying  open  the  disease,  it 
will,  perhaps,  not  be  difficult  to  arrive  at  the  pro- 
per remedy. 

It  is,  however,  to  be  understood  that  the  writer 
has  no  intention  to  arraign  the  moral  integrity  of 
the  individuals  who  pursue  the  measures  herein 
complained  of.  He  is  willing  to  believe  that  our 
corporation  sincerely  think  their  measures  con- 


8 


ducive  to  the  public  good.  But  if  the  whole  sys- 
tem be  intrinsically  wrong,  no  uprightness  of  in- 
tention in  those  who  blindly  follow  that  system 
can  compensate  for  the  injury  sustained  in 
consequence  of  it  And  every  man  who  has  an 
interest  in  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the 
community  to  which  he  belongs ;  who  is  suscepti- 
ble of  indignation  at  the  thought  of  private  pro- 
perty being  invaded  by  public  authority,  without 
necessity  and  without  compensation ;  and  who 
thinks  it  the  duty  of  each  individual  to  use  every 
lawful  exertion  to  prevent  all  needless  waste  of 
time,  money  and  labour  to  his  fellow  men,  is  ear- 
nestly requested  to  give  his  serious  attention  to 
the  subject  presented  to  his  view  in  the  following 
pages. 

A  plan  for  this  city,  it  is  well  known,  has  been  \ 
made  by  commissioners  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose by  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  and  is  exhi- 
bited on  the  map  commonly  called  the  commis- 
sioners' map.  Supposing  this  plan  to  be  perfect, 
as  respects  the  courses,  widths  and  distances  of 
the  avenues  and  streets,  still  it  cannot  safely  be 
acted  upon  until  the  future  alterations  necessary 
to  be  made  in  the  present  surface  of  the  ground 
be  accurately  ascertained.  One  great  object  in 
laying  out  the  island  was,  to  enable  individuals  to 
know  w  here  to  place  their  buildings,  without  dan- 
ger of  having  them  removed  at  some  future  day. 
But  the  digging  down  and  filling  up  of  land  is  a 


it 


work  of  vastly  greater  expense,  and  attended  with 
incalculably  greater  inconvenience  than  the  re- 
moving of  buildings  and  fences  from  one  place  to 
another  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  And  the 
not  having  both  parts  of  the  plan  finally  arranged 
before  any  part  was  begun  to  be  carried  into  ef- 
fect, has  been  a  fruitful  source  of  distress  and 
vexation  to  the  citizens  of  New-York. 

Not  only  the  execution  of  this  so  imperfect  plan 
is  intrusted  to  the  corporation ;  but  to  their  abso- 
lute discretion  is  likewise  committed  the  supply- 
ing of  its  defects.  The  map  of  the  island  shows 
where  the  avenues  and  streets  are  to  be ;  but  the 
elevations  and  depressions  which  must  take  place 
before  an  avenue  or  street  is  finally  regulated  are 
to  be  determined  by  the  corporation.  Were  the 
whole  plan  prepared,  that  is,  were  the  profiles,  as 
well  as  the  courses  and  widths  of  the  avenues  and 
streets,  all  determined,  and  then  merely  the  execu- 
tion of  this  plan  committed  to  the  corporation, 
much  less  inconvenience  would  ensue.  But  at 
present  the  aldermen  and  common-council  are 
expected  to  contrive  as  well  as  to  execute  the  most 
difficult,  expensive  and  obnoxious  part  attendant 
upon  the  making  of  public  ways. 

And  let  us  next  look  at  the  constitution  and 
powers  of  the  body  to  whom  this  difficult  and 
complicated  work  is  intrusted.  The  men  upon 
whose  will  and  determination  the  regulations  of 
our  city  are  Buffered  to  depend,  compose  a  body 

2 


10 


which,  being  annually  elected,  is  liable  to  con- 
stant fluctuation.    Before  one  set  of  members  de- 
cide upon  the  adoption  of  a  plan,  another  set  mav 
succeed  to  their  places,  and  have  to  learn  the 
lesson  w  hich  their  predecessors  had  not  time  to 
put  in  practice.    Even  if  a  plan  be  adopted  and 
acted  upon,  it  may  be  changed  and  undone  by  a 
subsequent  board.    Thus  the  public  can  enjoy  no 
security  that  any  plan  shall  be  carried  into  full 
and  final  effect.    And  the  habits,  education  and 
pursuits  of  men  chosen,  as  our  corporation  are, 
by  the  almost  indiscriminate  votes  of  the  people, 
and  whose  municipal  functions  are,  in  general,  but 
secondary  to  other  occupations,  render  it  morally 
impossible  that  they  can  be  competent  to  such  a 
task  as  to  devise  and  execute  proper  regulations 
for  the  site  of  a  great  and  rapidly  increasing  city. 
They  must  depend  upon  their  street-commissioner 
for  all  their  information.    And  it  is  almost  a  thing 
of  course  that  they  should  be  swayed  by  his  opi- 
nion in  matters  with  which  they  are,  for  the  most 
part,  totally  unacquainted,  but  which  he  is  obli- 
ged by  his  office  to  make  the  subjects  of  his  par- 
ticular attention.    Thus  the  landed  property  of 
the  citizens  of  New-York  is,  in  fact,  under  the 
power  of  one  man.    This  pow  er  is  too  great  to 
be  intrusted  to  any  one  individual.    And  so  many 
and  various  are  the  occupations  of  a  street-com- 
missioner, that,  had  he  the  genius  and  knowledge 


11 


of  Newton,  the  task  which  he  has  to  perform 
would  be  too  great. 

The  business  of  a  street-commissioner  should 
be,  to  attend  to  the  execution  of  plans  devised  by 
others :  he  should  not  be  expected  both  to  devise 
and  to  put  in  effect  the  regulations  necessary  for 
this  large  city.  A  man  who  has  to  attend  to  all 
the  details  attendant  upon  the  street-commission- 
er's department,  cannot  possibly  have  leisure  to 
obtain  and  reflect  upon  the  information  necessary 
to  give  him  an  enlarged  and  comprehensive  view 
of  the  future  regulations  of  this  island'.  A  mo- 
ment's consideration  of  the  qualifications  neces- 
sary for  the  task  of  making  plans  alone,  will  show 
that  scarcely  any  one  individual  ought  to  be  in- 
trusted with  it.  It  requires  a  man  to  be  a  good 
♦  mathematician,  a  natural  philosopher,  or,  at  least, 

well  acquainted  with  hydraulics ;  in  short,  to  be 
a  complete  civil  engineer;  to  possess  a  general 
knowledge  of  jurisprudence,  in  order  to  have  a 
due  sense  of  the  rights  of  individuals ;  and,  in  ad- 
dition to  this,  he  should  be  a  man  of  taste,  cul- 
tivated and  improved  by  an  exact  knowledge  of 
what  has  been  done  in  other  cities  of  our  own 
and  of  foreign  countries. 

It  is  a  right  principle,  not  to  intrust  any  em- 
ployment to  those  who,  however  upright  and  ho- 
nest in  their  general  character,  may  thereby  be 
tempted  to  swerve  from  the  path  of  rectitude, 
and  to  forget  the  good  of  the  public  in  pursuit  of 


12 


their  own  private  advantage.  It  is  a  violation  of 
this  principle  to  intrust  to  a  body  constituted 
like  our  corporation  the  planning  and  execution 
of  a  work  w  hich  exposes  them  to  the  temptation 
a'nd  lays  them  open  to  the  suspicion  of  jobbing 
and  playing  into  each  other's  hands,  and  of  squan- 
dering the  public  money  upon  favoured  individu- 
als. Sometimes  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
members  of  our  corporation  are  mechanics,  and 
persons  whose  influence  is  principally  among 
those  classes  of  the  community  to  whom  it  is  in- 
different w  hat  the  eventual  result  of  their  indus- 
try may  be  to  society,  if  they  but  obtain  employ- 
ment, and  are  well  paid  out  of  the  pockets  of  their 
richer  fellow  citizens.  It  is  wrong  to  expose  even 
the  best  men  to  temptation  like  this. 

Another  reason  why  the  corporation  of  this  city 
should  not  be  intrusted  with  the  sole  power  of 
planning  the  regulations  of  the  streets  and  ave- 
nues, is,  that  the  members  who  compose  it  are  not 
always  disinterested  persons.  When  a  regulation 
is  to  be  made,  a  member  of  the  board  who  may 
chance  to  own  lots  upon  the  avenue  or  street  in 
question,  will  naturally  be  inclined  to  think  that 
plan  best  which  best  suits  his  individual  interest 
or  convenience  ;  and,  by  strenuous  and  active  ex- 
ertion on  his  part,  aided  by  the  want  of  an  equal 
stimulus  to  zeal,  on  the  part  of  those  who  may  be 
inclined  to  oppose  him,  and  by  manifesting  to 
his  fellow  members  a  willingness  to  requite  their 


13 


compliance,  when  occasion  shall  offer,  he  will 
probably  carry  his  point.  Thus  there  is  danger 
that  the  general  interest  will  not  be  attended  to 
with  that  impartiality  and  that  singleness  of  re- 
gard, which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  well 
ordering  of  so  important  a  business  as  that  of 
which  we  are  treating. 

When  it  is  determined  by  the  corporation  that 
an  avenue  or  street  shall  be  opened,  commission- 
ers are  appointed  by  the  supreme  court  to  appor- 
tion the  attendant  expenses  among  the  proprie- 
tors of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  which  the  avenue  or 
street  is  to  pass.  Of  which  expenses,  the  law  de- 
termines that  the  corporation,  that  is,  the  public, 
shall  not,  in  any  case,  bear  more  than  one  third ; 
and  it  is  left  at  the  discretion  of  the  commission- 
ers to  impose  the  whole,  if  they  see  fit,  upon  the 
adjacent  landholders.  These  expenses,  it  is  to 
be  remembered,  are  for  merely  opening  the  ave- 
nue or  street;  for  the  corporation,  after  it  is 
opened,  may  let  it  remain  not  worked,  as  long  as 
they  please.  The  working  of  a  highway  is  a  dis- 
tinct thing  from  opening  it,  according  to  the  inter- 
pretation given  by  our  corporation  to  the  act  of 
the  state  legislature  relative  to  the  laying  out  and 
opening  of  streets  and  roads  in  this  city.  The 
expenses  alluded  to,  beside  the  pay  of  the  com- 
missioners and  surveyors,  arise  principally  from  the 
awards  made  to  those  who  have  buildings  which 
are  to  be  pulled  down  or  removed ;  and  to  those 


14 


whose  property  is  so  cut  up  as  to  be  materially 
injured  by  the  opening  of  the  avenue  or  street. 
Those  persons  whose  remaining  land  is  not  sup- 
posed by  the  commissioners  to  be  injured,  are  not 
allowed  any  thing  for  the  land  which  they  lose ; 
on  the  contrary,  they  pay  their  quota  towards  re- 
munerating those  who  are  considered  as  sufferers. 
The  operation  of  the  law  is  simply  this;  a  por- 
tion of  land  is  transferred  from  the  individual 
owners  of  it,  to  the  public,  for  public  use,  as  a 
highway  or  street.  For  this  land,  with  all  the 
improvements  which  may  be  upon  it,  the  public 
are  to  make  no  remuneration,  except  in  particu- 
lar cases,  where  the  corporation  are  charged  with 
not  more  than  one  third  of  the  damage  done  to 
individuals.  The  general  principle  is,  that  the 
expense  shall  fall  upon  those  who  are  supposed 
to  be  benefited.  And  they  who  bear  this  burden 
of  expense  receive  no  other  immediate  compensa- 
tion, than  the  hope  of  a  future  rise  in  the  value 
of  their  property.  The  proportion  of  this  ex- 
pense to  be  borne  by  each  individual  is  determin- 
ed by  the  commissioners,  according  to  the  advan- 
tage which  they,  by  a  spirit  of  divination,  it  is  to 
be  presumed,  suppose  he  will  at  some  future  in- 
definite period  derive  from  the  measure  in  ques- 
tion. When  the  expected  benefit  shall  actually 
arrive,  the  annual  taxes  upon  the  property  thus 
benefited  must,  of  course,  be  proportionally  in- 
creased.   So  that,  by  the  operation  of  this  law. 


15 


individuals  are  made  to  advance  immediately  a  capi* 
tal,  in  land  and  money,  to  the  public,  in  considera- 
tion of  a  future  and  contingent  benefit ;  and  when 
that  benefit  shall  actually  result,  then  the  same 
individuals  must  again  pay,  in  the  form  of  taxes, 
the  price  of  their  advantages.  Add  to  this,  that 
the  corporation  take  upon  them  to  defer  this 
hoped  for  benefit  as  long  as  they  please,  by  not 
actually  opening  the  street  or  avenue  even  after 
the  assessments  are  paid.  And,  after  the  houses 
and  fences  are  removed,  they  may  suffer  the 
street  or  avenue  to  remain  useless,  and  worse 
than  useless,  by  neglecting  to  have  it  worked; 
which,  in  some  instances,  remains  the  case  for 
years  after  the  forms  of  the  law  have  been  gone 
through.  Thus  an  individual  may  be  obliged  to 
surrender  to  the  public  a  large  portion  of  his 
land ;  to  suffer  much  inconvenience  from  the  de- 
rangement of  all  his  improvements  ;  to  incur  greal 
expense  in  removing  and  setting  up  anew  his 
fences ;  to  pay,  moreover,  a  heavy  assessment. 
And,  in  consideration  of  this  loss  of  property,  and 
this  immediate  and  certain  inconvenience,  he  is 
to  have  nothing  but  the  prospect  held  out  to  him 
of  a  future  harvest  to  be  reaped  from  the  enhance- 
ment in  the  value  of  his  property.  Which  en- 
hancement may  be  kept  at  as  great  a  distance  as 
the  corporation  think  proper,  by  not  working  and 
regulating  the  ground  surrendered  to  them.  And 
when,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  property  actually 


16 

increases  in  value,  it  is  again  forced  to  pay  for 
that  increase,  under  the  form  of  taxes. 

Let  it  not  be  urged  in  reply,  that  the  public 
authority  does  not,  generally,  open  an  avenue  or 
street  unless  a  majority  of  the  landholders  bor- 
dering upon  it  petition  to  have  it  opened.  Many 
circumstances  may  induce  individuals  to  hazard 
the  consequences  of  an  oppressive  measure.  Each 
may  fancy  to  himself  some  mode ,  of  escape,  or 
some  peculiar  advantage,  and,  in  consequence,  be 
induced  to  wish  for  the  measure.  And  each  one, 
in  the  event,  may  find  himself  grievously  disap- 
pointed and  oppressed.  But  supposing  the  land- 
holders to  be  unanimous,  and  with  a  full  know- 
ledge of  what  they  have  to  expect,  nevertheless 
to  desire  the  opening  of  an  avenue  or  street; 
still,  the  badness  of  the  principle  is  not  in  the 
least  affected.  A  man  may  find  it  adviseable  to 
purchase  what  he  wants,  at  an  extravagant  and 
unreasonable  price;  but  the  transaction  may, 
nevertheless,  deserve  the  name  of  extortion.  It 
appears  to  be  a  dictate  of  common  sense,  that 
when  a  public  work  is  to  be  done,  however  advan- 
tageous it  may  promise  to  be  to  particular  indivi- 
duals, the  public  should  advance  the  funds  neces- 
sary for  its  completion;  and  when  the  individuals 
actually  derive  the  contemplated  advantage,  and 
not  till  then,  that  they  be  made  to  bear  a  part  of 
the  public  burdens  proportionate  to  their  in- 
creased ability.    Thus  the  first  expense  would,  in 


17 


ordinary  cases,  be  scarcely  felt  by  any  one  of  the 
community ;  and  the  individual  burdens  would  be 
imposed  only  in  proportion  to  the  ability  to  bear 
them.  The  reverse  of  all  which  is  at  present  the 
case.  It  is  true  that  the  present  mode  of  assessment 
favours  the  kind  of  oppression  hinted  at  above.  By 
confining  the  imposition  to  a  few  individuals  at  once, 
our  rulers  perhaps  imagine  the  danger  of  losing 
their  popularity  to  be  diminished.  But  let  them 
beware — The  deep  feeling  of  injustice,  cruelty  and 
oppression  which  is  working  in  many  breasts,  and 
for  the  increase  of  which,  almost  daily  occasion  is 
administered,  does  not  wear  off  when  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  it  is  past,  but  rankles  in  the  bosom, 
and  is  never  forgotten. 

The  corporation  of  New-York,  by  authority  de- 
♦  rived  from  an  act  of  the  legislature,  may  raise  or 
depress  any  street  as  high  or  as  low  as  they  think 
proper;  then  appoint  persons  to  assess  the  own- 
ers of  land  on  each  side  of  it  for  the  cost  of  so  do- 
ing ;  they  may  also  oblige  those  proprietors  to  fill 
up  their  ground  to  the  height  of  the  street  so 
raised.  In  case  an  assessment  is  not  paid,  it  is  to 
be  levied  by  distress  and  sale  of  the  goods  and 
chattels  of  the  proprietors,  or  by  the  sale  of  the 
ground.  A  man  may  have  his  house  depressed 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth,  or  raised  into 
the  air,  by  means  of  the  adopted  regulation ;  he 
may  feel  the  measure  co  be  destructive  and  ruin- 
ous ;  yet,  if  the  corporation  assessors  think  other- 

3 


18 


wise,  he  will  be  obliged  not  only  to  suffer  this  in- 
jury, but  to  pay  as  though  he  had  received  a  be- 
nefit, or  to  abandon  his  property.  So  that  every 
proprietor  of  houses  and  lots  upon  a  street  to  be 
regulated  lies  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  assessors 
appointed  by  the  corporation,  and  of  their  notions 
of  what  is  advantageous  or  injurious.  The  cor- 
poration thus,  in  fact,  exercise  a  judicial  and  an 
executive  power  at  one  and  the  same  time.  Thus 
a  widow  whose  all  consists  of  the  lot  and  house 
which  she  occupies,  may  be  reduced  to  beggary 
merely  because  she  is  proprietor  of  land  which 
comes  within  the  range  of  the  ordinances  of  our 
corporation.  For  the  iron  grasp  of  our  city  go- 
vernment does  not  confine  itself  to  the  possessions 
of  the  wealthy ;  but  extends  even  to  the  slender 
portion  of  the  widow  and  the  orphan.  The 
above,  it  is  true,  is  an  extreme  case ;  but  such  a 
power  cannot  be  safe  in  any  hands.  Every  law 
which  violates  the  plain  dictates  of  justice  and 
humanity  is  in  opposition  to  a  higher  law  than 
any  which  can  be  promulgated  by  a  human  tri- 
bunal ;  it  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  God  and  na- 
ture. 

In  the  above  statement  of  the  powers  claimed 
by  our  city  corporation,  the  writer  is  not  con- 
scious of  any  exaggeration  or  high  colouring. 
And  all  who  feel  any  interest  in  the  subject,  will, 
it  is  hoped,  examine  and  judge  for  themselves. 

Let  us  next  view  the  effects  which  are  found 


19 


actually  to  result  from  the  commission  of  these 
powers  to  a  body  constituted  like  the  corporation 
of  New-York. 

The  uncertainty  which  attends  the  movements  of 
our  corporation  is  an  evil ,  universally  felt.  No 
one  can  tell,  after  a  measure  is  determined  upon, 
whether  it  will  ever  be  carried  into  effect.  And 
if  any  person  applies  to  the  public  authority  for 
information,  no  one  can  afford  him  more  than  a 
conjecture.  If  a  man  wishes  to  build  a  house 
upon  ground  which  has  not  yet  passed  the  corpo- 
ration ordeal,  and  applies  for  instruction  how  high 
or  how  low  he  must  place  the  foundation  of  his 
house,  he  cannot  obtain  the  desired  information, 
because,  in  fact,  no  one  can  give  it ;  the  level  of 
the  ground  is  not  determined,  and  nobody  can  say 
t  what  it  will  be.    And  even  suppose  the  aldermen 

and  common-council  to  sit  down  and  decide  upon 
the  desired  regulation,  there  would  still  be  no  se- 
curity that,  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  board, 
or  after  a  new  election,  this  decision  might  not  be 
changed.  Supposing,  moreover,  a  street  to  be 
actually  pitched  and  paved,  agreeably  to  an  ordi- 
nance of  the  board,  and  a  building  to  be  erected 
upon  it,  the  owner  of  the  building  would  not  yet 
be  secure ;  for,  in  consequence  of  the  regulations 
of  different  parts  of  the  city  being  made  at  differ- 
ent times,  and  no  general  plan  being  laid  down, 
it  is  sometimes  found  necessary  to  alter  the  eleva- 
tions and  depressions  of  parts  which  have  alrea- 


20 


dy  been  regulated  and  even  built  upon,  in  order 
to  make  them  correspond  with  the  elevations  and 
depressions  of  other  parts  which  are  subsequently 
regulated. 

About  ten  years  ago,  some  low  ground  in  the 
vicinity  of  Richmond  hill,  held  under  a  long  lease 
from  Trinity  Church,  was  filled  at  the  expense  of 
the  lessee,  so  as  to  render  it  fit  to  be  built  upon. 
Those  who  did  the  work  produced  certificates 
that  it  was  done  agreeably  to  the  plan  (or  the  di- 
rection) of  the  street-commissioner.  Since  that 
time,  the  plan  has  been  altered.  Hudson-street 
has  been  heaped  up  seven  or  eight  feet,  so  as  to 
render  the  above-mentioned  ground  useless  to  the 
proprietor  until  it  be  filled  to  a  height  correspond- 
ing with  the  street.  The  water  which,  by  the 
first  plan,  descended  from  the  north  and  the  south 
into  a  channel  running  westerly,  whence  it  was  im- 
mediately discharged  into  the  North  river,  is  now 
to  find  its  way  several  hundred  feet  eastward  on  the 
surface  of  the  streets,  in  order  to  return  under 
ground  through  a  sewer.  Good  reasons  may  possibly 
exist  fgr  this  new  regulation;  but,  to  all  appearance, 
there  has  been  in  this,  as  well  as  other  instances, 
an  enormous  and  wanton  waste  of  labour  and  mo- 
ney. And  it  is  incumbent  upon  those  who  advis- 
ed and  adopted  this  plan,  to  inform  the  landhold- 
ers in  that  vicinity  what  necessity  there  is  to 
oblige  them  to  expend  thousands  of  dollars  in  con- 
veying water  to  a  great  distance  on  the  surface 


21 


of  the  earth,  in  order  to  let  it  flow  all  that  distance 
back  again  through  a  channel  into  which  it  might 
have  been  made  to  descend  immediately,  with 
little  or  no  alteration  in  the  elevation  of  the 
ground. 

The  natural  interpretation  of  the  law  which 
directs  in  what  manner  the  corporation  are  to 
open  a  street,  seems  to  be ;  that  under  the  term 
to  open,  is  included  whatever  is  necessary  to  ren- 
der the  street  useful  as  a  public  highway.  The 
landholders  being  assessed  in  consideration  of  the 
benefit  which,  it  is  supposed,  will  result  to  them 
from  the  opening  of  the  street ;  and  as,  in  fact,  an 
injury  instead  of  a  benefit  arises  from  the  mere 
opening,  it  cannot  be  the  intention  of  the  law 
that  those  who  are  assessed  shall  be  kept  in  a 
♦  state  of  suspense  and  disorder  as  long  as  may 

suit  the  pleasure  of  our  city  guardians.  But  the 
corporation  consider  the  opening  of  a  street  as  to- 
tally distinct  from  the  working  of  it.  And  so  wide 
a  distinction  have  they  latterly  made  between  the 
two  terms,  that  they  have  passed  an  ordinance 
imposing  upon  proprietors,  who  have  paid  for  the 
opening  of  a.  street  through  their  land,  one  third  of 
the  expense  of  working  it,  that  is,  of  making  a 
road  in  the  middle  of  it.  This  ordinance  was 
made  in  opposition  to  the  opinion  of  one  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  in  this  city,  who  was  in  the  board 
at  the  time.  A  strong  instance  is  here  afforded 
of  the  propensity  which  exists  in  that  board  to 


22 


shift  as  much  of  the  public  burdens  as  they  can 
upon  the  shoulders  of  individuals. 

The  following  example  may  serve  to  show  the 
mode  of  proceeding  adopted  by  our  corporation 
in  opening  an  avenue  or  street. 

In  the  year  1815,  the  9th  avenue,  from  Green- 
wich lane  to  28th  street,  became  public  proper- 
ty, by  the  usual  course,  for  the  purpose  of  a  pub- 
lic highway.  The  writer  of  these  pages,  through 
whose  land  the  avenue  passes,  was,  in  conse- 
quence, deprived  of  a  piece  of  ground  one  hun- 
dred feet  in  width,  and  between  thirteen  and  four- 
teen hundred  in  length,  more  than  three  acres; 
he,  moreover,  paid,  in  January,  1816,  an  assess- 
ment of  one  hundred  and  eleven  dollars  and  some 
cents;  feeling,  at  the  same  time,  satisfied  to 
escape  so  well ;  and,  agreeably  to  the  order  of  the 
street-commissioner,  he  had  his  fences  removed, 
and  the  trees  which  stood  in  the  avenue  cut  down. 
Thus  losing  a  number  of  valuable  fruit-trees,  and 
being  put  to  a  great  expense  in  removing  and  put- 
ting up  fences.  It  was  expected,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  these  injuries  would  be  compensated 
by  having  a  good  road  immediately  made  through 
the  avenue.  This  hope,  however,  was  found  to 
be  delusive.  The  corporation,  after  having  col- 
lected the  assessments,  appeared  to  give  them- 
selves little  farther  trouble  about  the  avenue ;  but 
suffered  those  through  whose  land  it  passed  to 
open  or  keep  it  closed  as  they  thought  proper ; 
some  of  whom  put  up  fences  across  it ;  nor  has  it 


23 


been  actually  freed  from  fences  and  other  incum- 
brances until  within  a  few  weeks  past.  The  cor- 
poration, at  length,  after  receiving  sundry  peti- 
tions or  remonstrances,  written  and  verbal,  pass- 
ed an  order,  in  the  summer  of  this  year,  1818, 
three  years  after  the  ground  was  taken  by  the 
public,  to  work  a  road  through  the  avenue ;  but 
not  until  they  had  passed  a  previous  order,  mak- 
ing the  landholders  on  each  side  liable  for  one 
third  of  the  expense  of  making  the  road. 

A  piece  of  land  neighbouring  to  the  above-men- 
tioned, was  advertised  by  the  corporation,  nearly 
two  years  ago,  for  sale  at  auction,  because  the  as- 
sessments for  opening  a  street  through  it  were  not 
paid ;  although,  at  the  appointed  time  of  sale,  the 
street  remained  unopened,  and  has  so  continued 
until  this  autumn.  It  is  believed  that  the  above 
is  not  a  solitary  instance  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  proprietors  of  land  have  streets  opened 
through  their  property. 

The  plans  adopted  by  our  corporation  for  the 
regulating  of  the  ground  in  and  about  this  city, 
are  probably  the  chief  sources  of  the  injury  and 
vexation  complained  of  by  a  large  portion  of  the 
community.  The  great  principle  which  appears 
to  govern  these  plans  is,  to  reduce  the  surface  of 
the  earth  as  nearly  as  possible  to  a  dead  level. 
The  natural  inequalities  of  the  ground  are  destroy- 
ed, and  the  existing  water-courses  disregarded. 
And  j  in  defiance  of  all  the  outcries  which  are  rais- 


24 


ed,  and  the  remonstrances  which  are  offered,  our 
public  authorities  seem  unwilling  to  depart  from 
their  levelling  propensities,  but  proceed  to  cut  up 
and  tear  down  the  face  of  the  earth  without  the 
least  remorse,  and,  apparently,  with  no  higher  no- 
tions of  beauty  and  elegance  than  straight  lines 
and  flat  surfaces  placed  at  angles  with  the  hori- 
zon, just  sufficient  to  suffer  the  mud  and  water  to 
creep  quietly  down  their  declivities.  The  effects, 
upon  private  property,  of  these  changes  in  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  are  manifest.    Some  lots, 
with  the  buildings  upon  them,  are  raised  into  the 
air ;  some  are  depressed  below  the  surface  of  the 
earth ;  while  some  few  remain  unchanged.  Thus 
this  equalizing  system  acts  most  unequally  in  its 
operation.    And  property  which,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  proprietors,  is  injured  by  it,  is  obliged, 
as  well  as  the  rest,  to  bear  its  portion  of  assess- 
ments; because  the  principle  upon  which  they 
are  made  is,  that  individuals  are  to  bear  the  whole 
burden  of  the  regulations  effected  in  the  vicinity 
of  their  property.    That  most  of  the  great  chan- 
ges wrought  by  the  corporation  in  the  surface  of 
our  city,  are  detrimental  to  its  beauty,  and  not 
necessary  to  its  cleanliness  and  convenience,  is 
the  opinion  of  many  persons  of  taste  and  experi- 
ence.   The  levelling  of  some  of  the  beautiful  emi- 
nences which  adorned  the  suburbs  a  few  years 
ago,  has  been  a  subject  of  regret  to  strangers  as 
well  as  to  our  own  citizens.    And  it  is  confidently 


25 


maintained,  by  men  of  the  greatest  experience,  that 
all  the  useful  ends  proposed  by  the  levelling  sys- 
tem, might  be  attained,  at  much  less  expense  to 
the  community,  and  with  comparatively  little  in- 
jury to  private  property,  by  means  of  well-con- 
structed sewers,  judiciously  placed ;  such  as  are 
employed  in  all  well-regulated  cities  of  Europe, 
and  in  our  sister  city  Philadelphia. 

But  a  more  needless  and  ill-judged  attack  upon 
private  property,  under  colour  of  law  and  public 
utility,  was  perhaps  never  attempted  by  a  public 
body  than  the  regulation  of  the  ground  in  and 
about  the  village  of  Greenwich,  ordered  by  the 
corporation  in  1817. 

The  immediate  and  remote  injury  to  private 
property  that  would  ensue  upon  the  execution  of 
this  plan,  was  found  to  be  so  great  and  so  exten- 
sive, that,  after  it  had  been  partly  carried  into 
effect,  a  numerous  and  respectable  body  of  free- 
holders rose  in  opposition  to  it.  They  employed 
Mr.  Randel  to  examine  the  plan,  and  to  give  his 
opinion  of  it.  His  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
ground  to  be  regulated,  independent  of  his  known 
and  acknowledged  abilities,  rendered  him  pecu- 
liarly fit  to  judge  of  the  contemplated  measure. 
The  result  of  his  investigation  has  been,  to  show, 
in  a  manner  and  w  ith  a  precision  not  to  be  resist- 
ed, that  the  proposed  plan  would  be  attended 
with  an  amount  of  unnecessary  expense,  inconve- 

4 


26 


nience  and  injury,  hardly  credible  to  those  who 
have  not  examined  the  matter  for  themselves. 

Mr.  Rand  el's  calculations  are  founded  upon  the 
surveys  made  by  the  surveyors  employed  by  the 
street-commissioner;  these  surveys  do  not  agree 
with  one  another,  and,  consequently,  do  not  af- 
ford sure  ground  to  go  upon.  "  But,*'  to  employ 
Mr.  Handel's  own  words,  taking  the  map  made 
by  Mr.  Doughty  as  the  regulation  to  be  adopted 
by  the  honourable  the  corporation,  the  following 
effect  will  be  produced  in  the  vicinity,  and  north- 
east of  Greenwich  lane — An  averaged  space  of 
more  than  fifty  acres  must  be  filled,  averaging 
upwards  of  eight  feet,  which  at  3  per  house  lot, 
will  amount  to* 

"  But  a  much  greater  damage  will.  I  think,  be 
incurred  north  of  thirteenth  street — For,  when 
these  regulations  are  adopted,  unless  the  regula- 
tion is  extended  as  fir  north,  at  least,  as  Love- 
lane,  and  from  Broadway  to  eighth  avenue,  em- 
bracing a  space  of  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  acres,  then  the  east  branch  of  Manetta  water 
will  set  back  from  thirteenth  street  to  Love-lane, 
and  will  form  a  pond'  between  Messrs.  Burling. 


*  A  lot  of  25  feet  by  100.  at  twelve  and  a  ha'f  cents  per 
|oadj  would  cost,  tor  filling  to  the  height  of  8  feet,  $277  75. 
And,  allowing  16  lots  to  an  acre,  50  acres  would  cost  §222,200. 
1  his  is  independent  of  the  expense  of  removing  fences  and  al- 
tering houses,  kr.  foe. 


'21 


Morcwood,  Outhout,  &c.  and  Broadway  of  up- 
wards of  five  hundred  feet  in  breadth  and  two 
thousand  feet  in  length,  and  will  be  at  the  deepest 
place,  at  thirteenth  street,  nine  feet ;  and  at  Love- 
lane,  three  or  four  feet,  averaging  upwards  of  four 
feet  deep  for  more  than  twenty  acres. 

"  Mr.  Doughty  makes  eighth  avenue  twenty-se- 
ven feet,  and  the  west  branch  of  Manetta  water 
seventeen  feet  six  inches,  at  thirteenth  street, 
above  common  high  water;  there  will  therefore 
be  a  pond  in  the  vicinity  of  this  branch  also, 
north  of  thirteenth  street,  of  much  greater  extent 
and  averaged  depth  than  on  the  east  branch ;  and 
an  extensive  piece  of  country,  now  covered  with 
dwelling-houses  and  gardens,  will  be  inundated, 
and  require  to  be  drained." 
♦  It  would  be  tedious  and  uninteresting  here  to 

enter  into  a  farther  detail  of  particulars,  which, 
after  all,  could  not  be  understood  without  an  at- 
tentive examination  of  maps  and  drawings.  It  is 
sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  know  that  a  special 
committee  of  the  corporation  have  lately  reported 
in  favour  of  modifying  their  plan,  so  as,  in  some 
measure,  to  meet  the  views  of  those  who  petition- 
ed against  it,  and  partly  to  coincide  with  the  al- 
terations proposed  by  Mr.  Randel.  Thus  show- 
ing, by  their  own  confession,  that  much  of  the  dig- 
ging and  filling,  which  the  first  plan  would  have 
required,  is  not  necessary ;  and,  consequently,  that, 
however  good  their  intentions  may  have  been,  the 
corporation  were  about  to  commit  an  unnecessary 


28 


invasion  of  those  private  rights  which  ought  to  bt 
held,  which,  in  the  intention  of  law,  are  held 
among  the  most  sacred ;  and  which  should  never 
be  infringed  without  the  most  urgent  necessity  and 
the  most  ample  compensation.  It  is  well  worthy 
of  the  serious  attention  of  landholders,  how  much 
unnecessary  injury  they  are  yet  to  sustain,  even 
under  the  present  modification  of  the  plan  for  re- 
gulating the  ground  at  Greenwich. 

The  report  of  the  special  committee  of  the  cor- 
poration, above  alluded  to,  serves  as  a  notable  ex- 
ample of  the  spirit  in  which  our  city  regulations 
appear  to  be  conducted.  The  whole  of  this  re- 
port shall  15e  here  given  verbatim,  interspersed 
with  such  remarks  as  suggest  themselves  in  the 
course  of  it.    It  is  in  the  following  words: 

"  The  Special  Committee  to  whom  was  refer- 
red the  remonstrance  of  a  number  of  persons,  own- 
ers of  landed  estates  lying  in  the  village  of  Green- 
wich, against  the  plan  heretofore  adopted  by  the 
corporation  for  regulating  the  surface  of  the 
ground  of  that  village;  beg  leave  to  report, 

"  That  the  regulation  of  this  village,  from  its 
vicinity  to  the  city,  is  a  subject  of  great  public  im- 
portance, as  it  soon  will  become  united  to,  and 
make  a  component  part  of  the  thickly  populated 
part  of  the  city.  It  is  also  a  subject  of  much  indi- 
vidual interest  to  the  proprietors  on  whom  the 
burden  of  the  regulation  falls." 

Here  a  slight  alteration  in  the  phraseology  of 


29 


the  report  would,  if  we  mistake  not,  render  it 
much  nearer  the  truth.  The  regulating  of  a  tract 
of  land  requiring  an  enormous  expense,  the  bur- 
den of  which  is  to  be  borne  by  individuals,  is  cer- 
tainly a  matter  of  greater  "  importance"  to  them 
than  to  the  public.  The  contemplated  measure, 
therefore,  may  perhaps  be  one  of  much  public  in- 
terest;  but  it  certainly  is  one  of  great  individual 
importance.  The  passage  above  quoted  appears 
to  betray  the  spirit  which  renders  the  operations 
of  our  corporation  so  generally  odious.  We  here 
have  the  public  authorities  declaring  that  a  cer- 
tain measure,  directed  by  themselves,  is  of  "  great 
public  importance yet  that  the  burden  is  to  be 
borne  by  individuals.  One  would  suppose  that  it 
must  have  stared  the  framers  of  this  report  full  in 
|  the  face,  as  a  dictate  of  common  sense,  that,  if  a 

public  measure  be  of  great  public  importance,  the 
public  ought  to  bear  their  part  of  the  burden.  But 
this  natural  conclusion  seems  never  to  have  entered 
the  minds  of  the  committee ;  for  they  make  not  the 
most  distant  allusion  to  it  throughout  their  report. 
Indeed,  the  members  of  our  corporation  appear  to 
think  themselves  agents  for  an  employer  called  the 
public  ;  and  to  consider  it  their  business,  to  make 
as  great  bargains  as  possible  out  of  individuals,  in 
favour  of  their  employer ;  as  though  those  indivi- 
duals were  not  a  component  part  of  the  public  ; 
and  as  though  public  welfare  could  long  consist 
with  individual  oppression. 


30 


— -k  Four  committee  have  therefore  given  thif 
subject  their  particular  consideration,  they  have 
personally  inspected  and  viewed  the  ground,  they 
hive  examined  the  maps  and  models,  they  have 
heard  the  gentlemen  remonstrating,  their  surveyor 
and  their  counsel,  and  if  the  plan  which  your  com- 
mittee herein  reco  amend  should  hereafter  be 
found  not  to  have  been  the  best  possible  one, 
which  might  have  been  adopted,  your  committee 
will  only  have  to  regret  the  want  of  experience 
and  information  on  a  subject  of  this  nature,  which 
may  have  led  them  to  a  wrong  conclusion." 

It  is  surprising  that  this  consciousness  of  want 
of  "  experience  and  information,"  did  not  induce 
the  gentlemen  of  the  committee  to  recommend  to 
the  corporation,  what  had  been  suggested  by  the 
Greenwich  memorialists. — It  was  by  them  pro- 
posed to  refer  the  examination  of  the  subject  to 
disinterested  persons  possessed  of  "  experience 
and  information;"  and  to  send  for  such  persons 
to  other  parts,  if  they  could  not  be  found  here. 
The  writer  hopes  that  these  pages  may  tend  to 
convince  the  citizens  of  New-York  that  there  ex- 
ists great  need  of  having  the  landed  property  of 
this  island  plnced  under  the  care  of  men  of  u  ex- 
perience and  information." 

k-  The  part  of  the  village  of  Greenwich  Which 
is  the  subject  of  the  regulation,  lies  principally 
between  Herring-street,  (which  may  be  termed 
the  natural  ridge  or  back-bone  of  this  part  of  the 


31 


village,)  and  the  high  ground  at  and  near  Broad- 
way. The  water  east  of  Herring-street  naturally 
descends  in  a  direction  from  the  Hudson,  forms 
the  stream  called  the  Marietta,  (low  parallel  with 
the  river,  then  circuitously  discharging  themselves 
into  the  Hudson;  the  ground  covered  by  the  Ma- 
netta  streams,  as  well  as  considerable  land  adja- 
cent, lies  too  low  to  be  improved  for  agricultural 
purposes,  much  less  for  the  purpose  of  building 
on,  to  constitute  the  part  of  a- populous  city/' 

A  short  answer  to  this  statement  of  the  commit- 
tee is,  that  this  very  tract  which  is  said  to  lie  too 
low  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture  or  building,  is 
covered,  up  to  the  channels  through  which  the 
Manetta  streams  How,  with  gardens,  meadows, 
pasture,  grounds  and  houses.  But  what  is  the 
meaning  of  too  low  "for  the  purpose  of  building 
on,  to  constitute  the  part  of  a  populous  city  ?r'  If 
ground  is  sufficiently  elevated  to  carry  off  the  wa- 
ter effectually  to  the  river,  what  more  is  requisite 
for  the  purposes  of  agriculture  or  building?  Must 
every  part  of  a  city  be  equally  elevated  ?  Are 
we  to  be  reduced  to  a  perfect  uniformity  ?  This 
Manetta  stream  is,  at  thirteenth  street,  upwards  of 
sixteen  feet  above  high  water.  And  if  the  sewer  be 
continued  to  Greenwich  lane,  as  Mr.  Rand  el  ad- 
vises, the  whole  of  the  adjacent  land  may  be  saved 
from  a  great  expense  of  labour  upon  it.  and  the 


32 


lowest  point  still  be  upwards  of  eight  feet  above 
high  water:  a  height  greater  than  that  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  city  where  it  is  most  populous. 
Taking  the  last  quoted  sentence  in  connexion  with 
the  praise  bestowed,  immediately  after,  upon  the 
street-commissioner's  plan,  the  inference  to  be 
deduced  from  it  seems  to  be,  that  the  committee 
think  that  the  Manetta  streams  and  the  adjacent 
ground  should  be  heaped  up  with  earth,  so  as  to 
raise  the  low  ground  to  a  level  with  the  surround- 
ing country,  and  finally  obliterate  the  streams. 
Against  this,  reason  and  experience  should  enter 
their  solemn  protest.  Let  earth  enough  be  em- 
ployed, if  necessary,  to  render  the  ground  suffi- 
ciently solid  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture  or 
building.  But.  where  nature  has  provided  a  wa- 
ter-course, let  it  not  be  destroyed  without  the 
most  absolute  necessity.  The  natural  runs  of 
water  afford  a  guide  by  which  to  regulate  the  de- 
scents with  more  ease  and  certainty  than  any  sur- 
veys and  calculations,  and  with  the  least  possible 
alteration  in  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The 
writer  has  been  informed,  by  a  gentleman  in  all 
respects  competent  to  afford  the  most  correct  in- 
formation, that,  in  London,  the  descents  desig- 
nated by  the  water-courses  are.  when  practicable, 
carefully  preserved,  and  the  natural  elevations 
and  depressions  of  the  ground  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble adhered  to. 


33 


"  A  considerable  part  of  the  land,  however, 
affected  by  the  regulation,  lies  sufficiently  high 
for  all  the  purposes  of  building,  but  requires  to 
be  raised  to  give  its  water  the  necessary  descent, 
whether  it  is  discharged  over  the  surface  of  the 
streets,  or  through  sewers ;  but  as  sewers  require 
less  descent  to  carry  off  the  water  than  the  sur- 
face of  streets,  it  results  that  the  further  the  sew- 
er is  extended  into  this  village,  the  less  filling  in 
will  be  required.  And  on  this  subject  (the  ex- 
tension of  the  sewer)  has  arisen  the  difference  of 
opinion,  existing  between  the  major  part  of  the 
proprietors  and  the  street-commissioner,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  plan  remonstrated  against.  This  plan 
raised  Asylum-street,  and  made  the  water  west  of 
that  street  flow  directly  into  the  Hudson,  and  ex- 
tended the  sewer  to  Carmine-street,  making  the 
sewer  about  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty 
feet.  As  the  water  by  this  plan  has  to  be  carried 
over  streets  to  the  mouth  of  the  sewer  at  Carmine- 
street,  it  results  that  the  ground  has  to  be  very 
considerably  raised  in  many  places  to  give  the 
street  the  necessary  descent.  The  raising  of  the 
ground,  and  the  plan  itself  of  the  street-commis- 
sioner, is,  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  the 
best  plan  which  could  have  been  projected  to  ren- 
der the  surface  of  this  village  suitable  to  be  built 
on,  yet  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  low  value  of 
property  in  the  village,  and  its  total  present  un- 
productiveness, should  have  made  many  of  the 

5 


34 


proprietors  Unwilling  that  a  plan  should  be  adopt- 
ed which  would  carry  with  it  so  extensive  and 
permanent  advantages,  though  it  must  be  admit- 
ted that  these  advantages  would  have  been  pur- 
chased at  a  very  considerable  expense,  but  by  no 
means  at  so  gr?at  an  expense  as  has  been  fre- 
quently stated  in  formal  memorials  and  petitions, 
where  correctness  of  information  is  certainly  ex- 
pected from  gentlemen  possessing  character  and 
reputation  in  the  community.  That  the  board 
may  form  an  opinion  of  the  real  expense  of  raising 
the  surface  of  this  land,  your  committee  state : 

"  That  from  most  of  the  streets  west  of  Asy- 
lum-street w  hich  were  regulated  the  last  season, 
there  was  a  large  quantity  of  surplus  earth  taken 
aw  ay,  and  which  might  have  been  used  to  fill  in 
the  lots,  and  regulate  the  streets  of  this  village, 
at  the  expense  of  from  four  to  eight  cents  per 
load. 

w  The  plan  hereinafter  mentioned  will*  pro- 
duce more  surplus  ground  than  the  present  plan, 
and  your  committee  are  confident  in  the  opinion, 
that  the  removal  and  filling  in  w  ill  be  done  at  an 


*  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  following  would  have  been 
a  more  accurate  mode  of  expression — "  The  plan  hereinafter 
mentioned  will  not  require  the  purchase  of  so  much  ground  as 
the  present  plan." 


35 


expense  of  at  least  from  six  to  twelve  and  a  half 
cents  per  load;  and  your  committee  further  con- 
fidently state,  that  from  ten  to  twelve  and  a  half 
cents  per  load  are  the  highest  prices  which  hue 
been  given  this  season,  for  earth  within  three 
fourths  of  a  mile  of  this  situation." 

The  committee  have  not  given  their  reasons 
why  they  think  the  street-commissioner's  plan  the 
best,  nor  what  are  the  extensive  and  permanent 
advantages  that  would  be  attendant  upon  it. 
And,  after  confessing  their  want  of  experience  and 
information,  it  was  certainly  unreasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  the  public  would  be  satisfied  with  their 
bare  opinion.  They  suppose,  perhaps,  that  the 
low  ground  will  be  made  healthier  by  being  raised 
several  feet.  If  so,  they  must  feel  peculiar  inte- 
rest in  the  health  of  that  part  of  the  city ;  for  they 
cut  down  other  parts  without  mercy.  But,  after 
all,  if  the  lower  ground  be  completely  drained, 
there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  as  healthy 
as  that  which  is  a  few  feet  more  elevated.  And 
certainly  the  soil  of  a  country  is  not  improved  for 
the  purposes  of  building,  by  being  covered  with  an 
artificial  surface. 

They  think,  perhaps,  that  the  appearance  of  the 
ground  would  be  so  much  improved  by  their 
straight-lined  plan,  that  it  ought  to  be  preferred. 
But  there  is  little  doubt,  in  the  minds  of  people 
of  taste,  that  the  preserving  of  the  natural  ine- 
qualities in  the  ground,  when  not  too  great  and 


36 


too  abrupt,  is  one  of  the  greatest  beauties  that  can 
be  attained. 

The  latter  part  of  the  paragraph,  which  insinu- 
ates that  the  gentlemen  who  remonstrated  were 
guilty  of  incorrectness  which  did  not  comport 
with  "  character  and  reputation  in  the  communi- 
ty,*' has  an  appearance  of  want  of  decorum  and 
dignity  in  a  public  body,  which  betrays  a  temper 
of  mind  totally  inconsistent  with  the  calmness  and 
self-possession  requisite  for  the  proper  perform- 
ance of  the  duty  imposed  upon  the  committee. 
And  the  more  so,  as  the  calculations  of  the  gentle- 
men who  remonstrated  were  offered  merely  as 
probable  results ;  and  would,  upon  trial,  be  likely 
to  prove  as  near,  if  not  nearer,  the  truth  than 
those  of  the  committee ;  for  it  is  perfectly  natural 
to  suppose  that  the  increased  demand  for  earth  * 
would  increase  the  price  of  it. 

"  Your  committee  nevertheless  recommend  a 
partial  alteration  of  the  present  plan;  in  so  doing 
they  have  been  influenced  by  a  desire  to  meet  the 
views  and  opinions  of  the  proprietors  who  have 
remonstrated,  and  to  lessen  the  expense  of  filling 
in,  as  much  as  is  consistent  with  the  proper  raising 
and  regulating  the  low  lands,  and  carrying  off  the 
water  of  this  village;  and  your  committee  think 
that  even  the  proposed  plan  should  not  be  carried 
into  execution,  until  a  large  majority  of  the  pro- 
prietors wish  the  village  regulated ;  by  this  delay 
the  property  will  become  more  valuable,  and  the 


37 


proprietors  consequently  better  enabled  to  pay 

the  necessary  assessments. 

"  The  plan,  or  alteration  of  the  present  plan, 
which  your  committee  recommend,  is,  that  the 
sewer  to  discharge  the  water  from  this  village,  be 
laid  through  Clarkson-street,  Carmine-street,  and 
the  sixth  avenue,  to  about  where  Factory-street 
intersects  the  said  avenue,  making  the  surface  of 
the  sixth  avenue,  at  this  point,  about  thirteen  feet 
above  high-water  mark.  This  alteration  will  ex- 
tend the  sewer  from  Carmine-street  eight  hundred 
and  forty  feet,  and  will  make  the  whole  length  of 
the  sewer  three  thousand  seven  hundred  feet,  and 
will  allow  a  descent  on  the  bottom  of  the  sewer, 
of  about  two  and  three  fourths  of  an  inch  for  every 
hundred  feet. 

I  "  By  this  regulation  the  present  surface  of  the 

ground  at  the  intersection  of  the  sixth  avenue, 
Christopher-street  and  Greenwich-lane,  will  be 
about  a  proper  height,  the  sixth  avenue  will  have 
an  ascent  of  seven  and  a  half  inches  on  one  hun- 
dred feet  from  the  sewer  to  seventeenth  street, 
where  the  present  surface  is  of  a  suitable  height, 
between  which  and  twenty-second  street  the 
ground  is  so  situated  as  to  allow  the  water  to  be 
conveyed  directly  to  the  North  river,  with  some 
deep  digging,  between  the  eighth  avenue  and  the 
river;  but  the  surplus  earth  will  be  required  be- 
tween the  sixth  avenue  and  Broadway,  or  to  fill 
in  along  the  river,  when  the  wharfing  out  to  the 


38 


channel  is  undertaken.  According  to  this  plan, 
all  the  streets  below  seventeenth  street  will  at  the 
sixth  avenue  be  depressed,  which  will  increase 
the  ascent  to  Broadway,  to  about  ten  inches  on 
one  hundred  feet.  The  line  will  then  rise  at  ten 
inches  on  the  hundred  feet,  from  the  sixth  avenue, 
for  four  hundred  feet,  and  then  descend  in  a  regu- 
lar line  to  the  North  river." 

This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into  minute  dis- 
cussions ;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  by 
extending  the  sewer  a  little  farther,  so  as  to  reach 
Greenwich-lane,  and  by  digging  down  about  six 
feet  at  that  point,  a  still  farther  saving  of  property, 
to  a  great  amount,  may  be  obtained.  Why  the 
corporation  are  averse  to  this,  we  are  not  inform- 
ed ;  but,  as  it  is,  the  inhabitants  of  Greenwich  may 
congratulate  themselves  upon  a  saving  of  many  ti 
thousands  of  dollars,  and  of  much  needless  injury 
to  property. 

The  committee  say  that,  between  seventeenth 
and  twenty-second  streets,  "  the  ground  is  so  situ- 
ated as  to  allow  the  water  to  be  conveyed  direct- 
ly to  the  North  river,  with  some  deep  digging  be- 
tween the  eighth  avenue  and  the  river."  To  a 
person  unacquainted  with  the  abject  dependence 
of  the  landholders  in  this  island  upon  the  will  of 
the  corporation,  it  would  be  quite  ridiculous  to 
hear  these  gentlemen  talk  in  this  manner  of  cut- 
ting and  carving  the  property  of  others.  But  it 
is,  in  truth,  a  thing  not  to  be  thought  of  with  calm- 


39 


ness,  that  the  owners  of  real  property  in  this  city 
are  so  much  at  the  mercy  of  a  few  men,  that  the 
street-commissioner  may  stand  on  an  eminence  in 
the  centre  of  the  island,  stretch  out  his  hand,  like 
Moses  over  the  Red  Sea  ;  command  all  within  the 
reach  of  his  eye  to  be  overwhelmed ;  and  find  men 
ready  to  declare  publicly  that  they  think  his  mea- 
sures the  best  which  could  be  devised.  Not  only 
so,  but  those  who  are  to  suffer  must  furnish  the 
means  of  their  own  destruction ;  they  must  be- 
come their  own  executioners.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  ground  which  rises  from  the  shore  of  the 
North  river,  between  the  above-named  streets,  may 
be  rescued  from  destructive  and  ruthless  hands, 
before  they  direct  their  movements  that  way ;  and 
that  respect  for  the  rights  cf  property,  united  with 
|  true  taste,  may  save  from  ruin  those  other  parts  of 

our  island  which  have  not  yet  suffered. 

"  To  prevent  the  lake  or  pond  mentioned  in  the 
remonstrance,  your  committee  find  that  it  was 
proposed  to  form  a  temporary  drain  to  convey  the 
Manetta  water  to  the  intended  sewer,  and  which 
will  be  indispensable  until  the  whole  of  the  regula- 
tion is  completed,  as  far  north  as  twenty-first 
street.  A  permanent  culvert  may,  therefore,  (if 
then  thought  proper,)  be  constructed  to  receive  the 
water  of  east  branch  of  the  Manetta,  which  will 
tend  to  reduce  the  quantity  of  filling  in  at  that 
point,  which  will  be  a  saving  for  the  present ;  but 
your  committee  are,  of  opinion  that  the  best  plan 


40 


will  be  to  convey  the  water  in  a  direct  line  from 
Broadway  to  the  sixth  avenue." 

It  appears  evident  from  this  that  the  corpora- 
tion, if  we  may  judge  of  the  board  from  their  com- 
mittee, did  not  know  howT  the  lake  or  pond  was 
to  be  guarded  against,  until  they  found  that  a  con- 
trivance might  be  provided.  That  is.  they  trusted 
implicitly  to  their  street-commissioner,  and  knew 
nothing  about  the  matter  themselves,  until  they 
were  forced  to  it  by  the  just  remonstrances  of 
those  whom  they  were  about  to  oppress.  And  a 
precious  contrivance  this  temporary  drain  would 
be.  The  w  ater  would,  in  that  case,  be  cvrried  off 
both  above  and  below  ground.  Now,  if  this  drain 
be  made  sufficient  to  carry  off  the  water  in  that 
vicinity,  why.  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  should 
the  ground  be  heaped  up  over  it  ?  Why  not  let  j 
all  the  water  pass  through  this  channel,  and  thus 
save  the  adjacent  country  from  ruinous  expense  ? 

"  Your  committee  have  also  paid  particular  at- 
tention to  the  manner  in  which  Asylum-street  has 
been  regulated,  w  ith  a  view  to  reduce  the  height 
if  practicable  ;  but  on  examining  the  different  ele- 
vations, they  do  not  find  that  it  c  in  now  be  done 
to  advantage  :  for  if  the  water  is  carried  to  Green- 
v.  ich-lane.  and  from  thence  to  the  sew  er,  the  de- 
scent will  not  exceed  fourteen  inches  on  the  hun- 
dred feet,  and  varies  to  seven  and  a  half,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  distance  the  different  streets  are  from 
the  sixth  avenue.    Taking  into  view  the  situa- 


41 


tion  of  the  property  to  the  southward  and  east- 
word,  the  water  of  which  now  goes  into  the  river, 
they  are  of  opinion  it  would  he  inadviseahle  to  re- 
duce the  present  height  of  Asylum-street,  and 
thereby  discharge  considerable  water  now  falling 
to  the  southward  and  west  of  it  into  the  sewer." 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  the  force  of  the  rea- 
sons here  given  for  not  reducing  the  height  of 
Asylum-street;  which,  it  is  to  be  observed,  has 
been  raised  so  as  to  put  the  owners  of  lots  and 
houses  upon  it  to  a  great  expense,  and,  as  is  con- 
tended, without  any  necessity.  Seven  and  a  half 
inches  on  a  hundred  feet  must  be  a  sufficient  de- 
scent ;  for,  in  the  next  paragraph,  the  committee 
give  that  as  the  height  of  one  of  their  own  regula- 
tions. And  why  the  water  should  not  be  dis- 
|  charged  into  the  sewer,  since  for  this  very  pur- 

pose the  sewer  is  to  be  constructed,  and  thus  ex- 
tended, appears  inexplicable.  Mr.  Randel  ob- 
serves, in  a  communication  made  to  the  writer,  "  If 
the  water  from  Asylum-street,  instead  of  being- 
taken  to  Greenwich-lane  and  thence  to  the  sewer, 
be  taken  to  Factory-street,  -and  thence  along  that 
street  to  the  sewer;  then,  the  height  of  Asylum- 
street  may  be  reduced  at  Charles-street  three  feet 
ten  inches,  at  Perry-street  three  feet  six  inches, 
at  Hammond-street  three  feet  nine  inches,  &c.  and 
there  will  remain  a  descent  of  seven  and  a  half  in- 
ches on  one  hundred  feet  to  the  sewer,  where  the 
surface  of  the  ground  will  be  tin r teen  feet  above 

6 


42 


high  water.  If  Asylum-street  is  thus  depressed, 
then  the  ridge  of  ground  will  be  removed  about 
three  hundred  feet  westerly  towards  Herring- 
street,  and  the  water  from  about  eight  acres  of 
ground  will  thereby  pass  into  the  sewer,  instead 
of  descending  directly  to  Hudson's  river  above 
ground.  The  water  from  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  acres  of  ground  north-easterly  of  Asy- 
lum-street and  Greenw  ich  lane,  and  south  of  se- 
venteenth street,  must  (by  the  plan  recommended 
by  the  committee)  pass  through  the  sewer ;  and  if 
the  sewer  (south  of  Greenwich-lane)  receives  the 
water  from  only  six  hundred  feet  on  each  side  of 
it,  then,  the  water  from  at  least  two  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  ground  must  pass 'through  it;  so 
that  by  depressing  Asylum-street  as  above  men- 
tioned, there  will  be  an  increase  of  only  one  thir- 
ty-fifth in  the  whole  quantity  of  water  passing 
through  the  sewer/' 

The  report  proceeds  :  "  By  this  plan  the  high- 
est point  on  Greenwich-lane  will  be  between 
Hammond  and  Bank  streets,  where  it  will  be 
about  six  feet  above  -  the  present  surface,  which 
will  allow  a  descent  of  seven  and  a  half  inches  on 
one  hundred  feet  from  this  point  to  the  sewer,  and 
the  same  to  thirteenth  street.  The  length  of  the 
sewer  being  determined,  and  also  the  height  of 
the  sixth  avenue,  Asylum-street,  seventeenth 
street  and  Broadway,  of  course  all  the  interve- 
ning streets  must  be  made  to  conform. 


43 


*  Your  committee  therefore  recommend,  that 
the  street-commissioner  be  directed  to  m  ike  an 
exact  plan  and  model  in  conformity  to  this  report, 
that  the  proprietors  may  know  the  heights  and 
levels  agreed  upon  by  the  corporation." 

Thus  ends  the  report ;  which  should  not  have 
been  given  at  full  length,  but  to  avoid  the  imputa- 
tion of  making  mangled  quotations. 

The  force  of  the  reasoning  opposed  by  Mr. 
Randel  to  the  plan  first  adopted  by  the  corpora- 
tion, is  so  great  as  to  defy  any  thing  like  a  definite 
answer.  So  that  the  committee,  as  though  they 
think  the  honour  of  the  board  concerned  not  to 
acknowledge  themselves  in  the  wrong,  still  main- 
tain their  own  plan  to  be  best,  without  giving  any 
intelligible  reason  for  that  opinion;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  give  up  that  plan  with  a  very  bad  grace, 
and,  apparently  with  much  ill-humour  towards 
those  who  remonstrated  against  it. 

Such,  therefore,  is  the  state  of  the  case.  A 
tract  of  land  large  enough  for  a  town  to  be  built 
upon  it,  and  already  containing  many  houses,  is 
doomed  by  the  corporation  of  the  city  to  be  raised 
several  feet,  in  order  to  make  it  coincide  with  a 
plan  devised  by  their  street-commissioner.  The 
owners  of  this  tract,  seeing  themselves  likely  to 
be  grievously  oppressed  by  this  plan,  employ  a 
person,  of  confessedly  the  first  rate  abilities  and  of 
much  experience,  to  examine  it.  He  pronounces 
the  plan  to  contain  regulations  absolutely  unne- 


44 


cessary,  and  ruinous,  not  only  to  the  tract  in  ques- 
tion, but  to  the  land  beyond  it ;  and  declares  that, 
by  such  a  mode  of  regulating  the  ground,  no  cal- 
culation can  be  made  of  the  ultimate  mischief  that 
may  ensue.    He  proposes  several  plans  in  lieu 
of  the  one  objected  to,  and  urges  his  objections 
with  a  mathematical  precision  to  which  the  cor- 
poration, with  all  their  counsel,  have  not  been  able 
to  oppose  a  direct  answer.    The  corporation,  at 
length,  consent  to  appoint  a  special  committee  to 
confer  with  these  complainants ;  which  commit- 
tee, with  a  very  ill  grace,  agree  to  depart  from 
their  street-commissioner's  plan,  at  the  same  time 
declaring  that  they  think  it  the  best  that  could 
be  devised,  without   giving   any   definite  rea- 
son for  that  opinion;  and  without  showing  any 
disposition  to  repair  the  mischief  which  has  al-  s 
ready  been  done.    The  above  report  serves  to 
display  the  spirit  which  exists  in  the  corporation. 
Instead  of  magnanimously  confessing  themselves 
to  be  wrong,  and  manifesting  a  desire  to  repair 
the  injuries  already  committed  in  consequence  of 
their  mistakes,  they  maintain  that  what  they  were 
about  to  do  was  best ;  and  that  they  yield  to  the 
importunity  of  others,  against  their  own  judgment. 
So  that  their  inclination  is  still  in  favour  of  their 
oppressive  and  unnecessary  operations ;  and  they 
depart  from  them  merely  to  silence  a  clamour 
which  has  arisen  against  them.    What  have  pro- 
prietors of  land  to  expect  from  such  a  body,  but 


45 


a  recurrence  to  its  favourite  plans  whenever  an 
opportunity  shall  present  itself?  It  is  time  that 
the  regulations  of  this  island  were  determined. 
And  they  ought  to  be  determined  by  wiser  heads. 
Few  persons  seem  aware  of  the  reflection  neces- 
sary for  regulating  a  city.  The  whole  plan  ought 
to  be  made  before  the  regulation  of  any  particular 
part  is  carried  into  effect;  because  the  ultimate 
consequences  of  a  partial  regulation  cannot  be 
known  without  taking  into  consideration  all  the 
ground  that  is  to  be  regulated.  A  single  foot 
more  or  less  in  the  elevation  of  one  part  may 
eventually  affect  an  extensive  tract  of  land,  and 
make  a  difference  in  expense  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars.  None  are  competent  to  a  work 
of  this  nature  who  have  not  a  comprehensive  view 
I  of  the  ground  to  be  regulated,  and  who  do  not 

give  much  time  and  minute  attention  to  every  part 
of  the  subject. 

A  part  of  the  above-mentioned  plan  for  the  re- 
gulation of  Greenwich,  was  carried  into  effect  be- 
fore the  corporation  would  listen  to  the  remon- 
strances made  against  it.  Among  the  instances  of 
oppression  which  attended  that  plan,  as  far  as  it 
was  executed,  the  following,  as  a  prominent  one, 
is  selected. 

The  proprietors  of  the  wire  or  card  manufac- 
tory at  Greenwich  employed  every  method  they 
could  devise  to  ascertain  how  their  buildings 
should  be  placed  in  security  against  the  regula- 


46 


tions  to  which  the  ground  about  them  might  he 
subjected.  The  buildings  were  erected  at  a  cost 
of  upwards  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  indepen- 
dent of  the  ground  on  which  they  stand.  But  not- 
withstanding their  supposed  security,  Asylum- 
street,  which  forms  the  western  boundary  of  the 
ground  in  question,  has  been  heaped  up,  so  as  to 
rise  several  feet  above  the  base  of  the  manufacto- 
ry. The  injury  which  is  thus  sustained  is  self- 
evident.  But,  in  addition  to  this,  the  proprietors 
have  been  obliged  to  pay  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  dollars  and  some  cents,  as  their  quota  of  the 
assessments  for  raisins;  the  street.  When  the 
streets  on  the  other  three  sides  of  the  plot  in 
which  the  manufactory  stands  are  raised,  the  as- 
sessments for  so  doing  must  likewise  be  paid; 
and  the  corporation  may  then  order  the  box  thus  * 
made  by  their  regulations  to  be  filled  to  the  level 
of  the  streets  around  it,  without  regard  to,  and 
without  being  accountable  for,  the  ruin  to  the 
buildings  which  must  ensue.  This  cannot  be 
right.  No  law  can  make  it  just  for  individuals  to 
give  up  their  rights,  and  sacrifice  their  property 
to  public  convenience  or  public  whim,  without  any 
remuneration  on  the  part  of  that  public. 

This  is  but  one  instance,  among  others,  of  the 
actual  operation  of  our  laws.  It  is  plain  that  no- 
thing but  the  most  imperious  necessity  can  justify 
the  adoption  of  plans  which  lead  to  consequences 
such  as  the  above.    That  some  members  of  the 


47 


corporation  think  such  necessity  exists,  may  be 
true.  They  may  deem  it  absolutely  necessary  to 
carry  off  the  water  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  in  straight  courses ;  and,  for  this  purpose,  to 
change  the  whole  face  of  the  earth.  But  if  it 
should  be  found  that  this  labour  and  these  changes 
are  useless,  and  worse  than  useless,  our  rulers 
would  have  a  lame  account  to  render  to  the  pub- 
lic, as  well  as  to  individuals,  for  an  exercise  of 
power  more  arbitrary  than  was  ever  endured  by 
any  people  pretending  to  the  faintest  shadow  of 
liberty. 

Beside  the  above-stated  effects,  other  conse- 
quences, not  less  important  to  individuals  and  to 
the  community  at  large,  result  from  this  enormous 
and  ill-directed  power. 

The  value  of  property  which  has  not  jet  been 
attacked  by  the  corporation  is  so  much  depressed 
as  to  prevent  all  demand  for  it,  and  to  render  its 
worth,  except  for  agricultural  purposes,  merely 
nominal.  No  one  dares  to  purchase,  except  at  a 
price  so  low  as  to  invite  speculation ;  because  no 
one  can  foretell  the  future  condition  of  the  pro- 
perty which  he  may  buy,  nor  the  future  assess- 
ments with  which  it  may  be  burdened.  It  is  all  a 
lottery,  in  which  the  tickets  are  so  high,  and  the 
chances  of  gain  so  few,  that  people  dread  to  ven- 
ture. 

But  not  only  does  he  who  wishes  to  dispose  of 
his  land  suffer  by  the  existing  state  of  things ;  he 


48 


also  who  wishes  to  improve  his  own  property  is 
cramped  and  harassed  in  his  operations;  for  no 
man  dares  to  erect  costly  buildings  upon  ground 
which  is  not  regulated;  nor  can  he  regulate  it 
himself,  as  no  general  plan  is  laid  down,  nor  has 
he  any  w  ay  of  discovering  what  the  regulation  is 
to  be.  He  knows,  moreover,  that  no  compensa- 
tion is  to  be  expected  for  any  damage  w  hich  he 
may  sustain  in  consequence  of  the  future  opera- 
tions of  the  public  authorities. 

Thus  the  growth  of  the  city  is  retarded,  and  the 
price  of  ground,  in  the  regulated  parts  of  it,  raised 
so  as  to  be  entirely  disproportionate  to  that  of 
ground  within  a  few  hundred  yards,  but  which  has 
not  yet  suffered  under  the  hands  of  the  corpo- 
ration. There  is  a  constant  struggle  between 
the  efforts  of  the  town  to  extend  itself,  and  the  in- 
ability of  the  property  in  its  vicinity  to  endure  the 
expenses  attendant  upon  the  measures  which  are 
pursued  for  that  purpose. 

Whenever  a  plan  is  carried  into  effect,  which 
involves  unnecessary  expense,  that  expense  is  an 
unnecessary  burden  upon  a  part  or  the  whole  of 
the  community.  Let  it  not  be  said,  that  the  mo- 
ney which  is  paid  by  one  portion  of  society  to  ano- 
ther is  not  a  loss  to  the  community,  if  it  serves  to 
give  employment  to  a  number  of  hands  who  de- 
pend on  their  own  labour  for  subsistence.  All  need- 
less labour  is  a  public  waste.  This  proposition  is 
too  evident  tp  require  any  arguments  to  enforce  it. 


49 


And,  happily,  the  state  of  our  country  is  such  that 
no  necessity  exists  to  devise  fictitious  modes  of 
employment  for  the  labouring  parts  of  the  com- 
munity. It  is  worthy,  too,  of  serious  considera- 
tion, that  every  hill  which  our  corporation  order 
to  be  levelled ;  every  hollow  which  they  require 
to  be  filled,  and  every  alteration  which  they  cause 
to  be  made,  without  absolute  necessity ;  in  short, 
that  every  unnecessary  work  for  which  hands  are 
paid,  tends,  without  producing  an  equivalent,  to 
enhance  the  price  of  labour,  and,  consequently, 
of  every  article  which  is  the  product  of  labour. 

The  changes  wTought  in  the  face  of  this  island 
by  the  present  mode  of  levelling  and  filling,  and 
thus  reducing  it  to  a  flat  surface,  are  lamented  by 
persons  of  taste,  as  destructive  to  the  greatest 
beauties  of  which  our  city  is  susceptible.  Al- 
though our  corporation  may  be  so  devoted  to  this 
system,  that  they  cannot  think  any  beauty  to  ex- 
ist without  it,  they  might,  at  least  in  some  in- 
stances, yield  to  the  taste  of  others.  But,  to 
judge  from  appearances,  they  seem  resolved  to 
spare  nothing  that  bears  the  semblance  of  a  rising 
ground ;  nothing  is  to  be  left  unmolested  which 
does  not  coincide  with  the  street-commissioner's 
plummet  and  level.  These  are  men,  as  has  been 
well  observed,  who  would  have  cut  down  the 
seven  hills  of  Rome,  on  which  are  erected  her 
triumphant  monuments  of  beauty  and  magnifi- 

7 


50 


cence,  and  have  thrown  them  into  the  Tyber  or 
the  Pomptine  marshes. 

In  whatever  way  the  powers  of  our  city  corpo- 
ration and  their  effects  be  contemplated,  whether 
with  the  eye  of  a  jurist,  of  a  political  philosopher, 
of  a  philanthropist,  or  of  a  man,  of  taste,  they  ap- 
pear productive  of  evil.  We  live  under  a  tyran- 
ny, with  respect  to  the  rights  of  property,  which, 
it  is  firmly  believed,  no  monarch  in  Europe  would 
dare  to  exercise.  And,  in  respect  to  its  opera- 
tion, it  is  a  tyranny  of  the  worst  kind ;  for  it  is 
under  the  sanction  of  laws  which  shield  those 
who  exercise  it  from  being  called  to  legal  account. 
It  is  time  for  all  who  are  interested  to  arouse, 
and  to  unite  themselves  for  the  maintenance  and 
preservation  of  their  rights. 

A  remedy  for  these  evils  may  probably  be  ob-  i 
tained,  if  unanimity  prevails  among  those  imme- 
diately interested,  and  if  an  ordinary  sense  of  jus- 
tice exists  in  the  breasts  of  those  by  whom  the 
remedy  must  be  applied. 

The  course  most  adviseablei;o  be  pursued,  ap- 
pears to  be  this :  Let  the  corporation  be  request- 
ed to  apply  to  the  legislature  to  appoint  commis- 
sioners, whose  business  it  shall  be  to  adjust  the 
final  regulations  of  the  levels  of  the  streets  and 
avenues  on  this  island. 

Let  the  owners  of  real  estate  on  this  island  also 
unite  in  a  petition  to  the  legislature,  praying  for  a 
revision  of  the  laws  relative  to  the  opening  and 


51 


regulating  of  avenues  and  streets.  We  can  see 
no  good  reason  why  the  corporation  should  object 
to  such  a  revision,  or  to  having  the  business  of 
planning  the  regulations  of  this  city  transferred 
to  other  persons ;  unless  they  be  actuated  by  a 
mistaken  pride,  or,  which  it  is  sincerely  to  be 
hoped  is  not  the  case,  by  an  undue  desire  of  main- 
taining their  importance  and  influence  among  cer- 
tain classes  of  people  who  find  tliejr  account  in  all 
the  havoc  which  is  made  upon  the  houses  and 
ground  of  the  freeholders  of  New-York.  They 
would  be  spared  much  trouble,  and  be  relieved 
from  a  great  load  of  odium,  by  having  a  part  of 
their  present  business  placed  in  other  hands. 

In  the  petition  to  the  legislature,  let  it  be  sta- 
ted ;  That  much  discontent  is  caused  by  the  man- 
ner of  regulating  our  city.  That,  in  consequence 
of  the  want  of  judicious  and  extensive  plans,  much 
unnecessary  injury  is  committed  upon  property, 
and  much  superfluous  labour  and  expense  occa- 
sioned to  the  community.  That,  in  addition  to 
this  expense,  it  is  believed,  the  appearance  of  our 
island  is  injured  by  the  prevailing  system  of  cut- 
ting down  the  eminences  and  filling  up  the  hol- 
lows. That,  after  much  consideration  and  inqui- 
ry, the  petitioners  rest  satisfied,  the  true  principle 
upon  which  the  site  of  a  city  ought  to  be  regula- 
ted, is,  to  preserve  the  natural  surface  of  the 
ground  as  closely  as  a  regard  to  utility  will  per- 
mit; to  depress  the  elevations  no  more  than  is 


52 


absolutely  required   by  convenience;   and,  as 
much  as  possible,  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  filling 
the  lower  parts,  by  the  use  of  well-constructed 
sewers.    That,  by  adhering  to  this  rule,  the  most 
desirable  ends  would  be  attained  with  the  least 
possible  injury  and  expense  ;  agreeably  to  a  lead- 
*ng  principle  which  appears  to  pervade  the  uni- 
verse; and  which  must  have  presented  itself  to 
every  observing  mind, — in  all  the  operations  of  na- 
ture or  art,  the  greatest  results  are  attained  by  the 
simplest  means.    Let  it  be  urged  upon  the  legisla- 
ture to  take  into  their  serious  consideration  whether 
the  following  be  not  plain  dictates  of  justice  :  That 
all  public  works  should  be  done  at  the  expense  of 
the  public.    That,  when  the  public  and  an  indi- 
vidual are  placed  in  the  situation  of  two  distinct 
parties,  and  it  is  required  of  the  individual  to  sur-  j 
render  any  right  or  sustain  any  immediate  loss,  by 
which  the  other  party  is  benefited,  that  immediate 
reparation  should  be  made  to  the  individual  for 
the  right  surrendered  or  the  loss  sustained ;  and 
that  he  be  not  obliged  to  pay  for  a  benefit  to  him- 
self until  that  benefit  arrives  ;  in  other  words,  that 
an  individual  be  not  forced  to  become  a  capitalist 
for  the  public ;  the  part  for  the  whole,  the  poor 
for  the  rich.    Let  the  legislature  be  desired  to 
state  explicitly  what  is  to  be  understood  as  com- 
prehended under  the  term  to  open  a  street  or  ave- 
nue.   Whether  it  is  meant  to  include  in  that  term 
all  the  advantages  naturally  to  be  expected  from 


53 


so  doing,  or  whether  it  is  intended  that  landhold- 
ers shall  pay  for  opening  the  avenues  and  streets, 
and  then  see  them  remain  closed  for  years  after 
the  assessments  are  paid,  and  at  length  be  obliged 
to  pay  again  when  they  are  opened  for  any  prac- 
tical purpose.  Finally,  let  the  legislature  be  in- 
treated  to  inquire  into  these  matters  as  speedily 
as  possible,  and  appoint  persons  of  science,  expe- 
rience and  taste,  to  devise  plans,  which,  after  re- 
ceiving legislative  sanction,  may  be  offered  to 
public  view,  as  exhibiting  the  permanent  surface 
of  the  whole  contemplated  extent  of  our  city. 

The  benefit  which  would  result  to  the  commu- 
nity at  large,  and  to  owners  of  landed  property 
in  particular,  from  the  success  of  such  a  petition, 
would  be  incalculable.    Beside  the  uncertainty 
and  vexation  which  would  be  spared  to  individu- 
als, the  public  labours  would  probably  be  much 
diminished ;  for,  if  exact  models  were  made  of  the 
present  surface  of  the  island,  and  of  the  destined 
regulations,  so  as  to  enable  proprietors  of  land  to 
ascertain  how  much  any  portion  of  ground  on  the 
island  is  to  be  altered  from  its  present  level,  the 
operations  and  improvements  of  individuals  on 
their  own  property  would  be  constantly  directed 
so  as  to  reduce  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  a  con- 
formity with  the  elevations  and  depressions  point- 
ed out  by  the  public  plan ;  and  thus,  in  the  course 
of  time,  much  would  probably  be  done  in  antici- 
pation of  the  ordinances  of  the  common-council. 


54 


The  writer  is  aware  that  a  diversity  of  senti- 
ment exists,  on  some  points,  among  those  who,  in 
the  main,  think  the  measures  of  our  corporation 
grievously  oppressive,  and  unnecessarily  destruc- 
tive of  property,  both  public  and  private.  Some 
persons  who  dislike  the  assessments  for  the  dig- 
ging and  filling  of  streets,  still  think  the  beauty  of 
the  city  improved  by  its  being  reduced  to  a  uni- 
form flat  surface.  Tastes,  it  is  true,  are  various ; 
but  it  may  be  observed  to  such  persons,  that  they 
already  have  ample  room  to  gratify  their  love  for 
plane  surfaces.  The  environs  of  Hudson's  square 
are  fast  coming  to  a  level ;  and,  ere  long,  we  shall 
see  nothing  but  a  dead  flat  from  Spring-street  to 
Greenwich-lane.  It  is,  therefore,  but  fair  that  the 
taste  of  other  people  should  likewise  be  gratified. 
We  do  not,  however,  wish  to  undo  what  has  al-  * 
ready  been  done ;  but  to  preserve  what  has  not 
already  been  destroyed. 

Much  prejudice  exists  against  sewers.  On  this 
subject,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  following  let- 
ter from  Dr.  Hosack,  addressed  to  the  writer  of 
this  statement. 

"New-York,  Nov.  15th,  1818. 

"  DEAR  SIR, 

"  During  my  late  visit  to  Philadelphia  I  was  not 
unmindful  of  your  request  relative  to  the  benefits 
or  evils  that  may  have  arisen  from  the  introduc- 
tion of  common  sewers  in  that  city.    I  conversed 


55 


with  several  gentlemen  upon  that  subject,  particu- 
larly with  Mr.  John  Vaughan,  Mr.  Cammack,  Dr. 
Mease,  and  the  late  Dr.  Dorsey ;  they  all  concur- 
red in  stating  the  beneficial  results  that  had  been 
derived  from  that  measure  adopted  by  their  po- 
lice ;  that  it  not  only  had  materially  added  to  the 
comfort  of  the  citizens,  but  that  it  had  been  the 
means  of  freeing  the  air  from  many  impurities, 
and  essentially  had  contributed  to  the  health  of  the 
inhabitants. 

"  Mr.  Vaughan  promised  me  an  account  of  the 
size  and  construction  both  of  the  large  trunks  and 
of  the  numerous  branches  that  open  into  them  j 
but  as  the  corporation  of  this  city  are  in  posses- 
sion of  the  necessary  facts  upon  this  subject,  I 
need  not  trouble  you  with  the  details  to  be  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Vaughan. 

"  Fully  convinced  that  similar  measures  in  this 
city  would  be  attended  with  the  same  addition  to 
the  comfort  and  health  of  its  inhabitants,  I  hope 
your  application  to  the  corporation,  or  to  the  state 
legislature,  may  receive  that  attention  which  its 
importance  demands;  for  in  no  city  can  such 
sewers  be  with  more  facility  constructed,  nor  in 
any  can  they  be  introduced  with  more  beneficial 
results. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  with  sentiments  of  esteem  and 
respect,  yours, 

•  DAVID  HOSACK." 


56 


The  following  extracts  from  Roberton's  Medi- 
cal Police  may  serve  to  show  the  opinion  of  that 
writer  with  respect  to  the  effect  of  sewers  upon 
the  health  of  a  city. 

"  Within  the  city"  (of  London)  "  much  is  effect- 
ed in  the  prevention  of  disease  by  the  soil  being 
kept  moderately  dry  and  healthy,  by  drains  and 
common  sewers  in  almost  every  part  of  it." 

Again — "  From  the  well-constructed  drains  and 
sewers,  and  from  the  contiguity  of  the  Thames  to 
London,  even  the  disadvantages  arising  from  its 
being  built  almost  on  a  plane,  are  greatly  ob- 
viated." 

With  regard  to  the  expense  of  constructing  sew- 
ers, it  has  been  urged,  that  if  the  expense  of  a 
sewer  be  imposed  upon  those  inhabitants  through 
whose  street  it  passes,  the  burden  must  be  great-  * 
er  upon  each  individual  than  would  be  imposed 
for  the  regulating  of  the  street  alone.  But  some 
idea  may  be  formed  of  the  difference  of  expense 
between  digging  down  and  filling  in  a  whole  tract 
of  land,  to  carry  off  the  water,  and  the  construct- 
ing of  a  sewer  for  that  purpose,  by  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  written  by  a  gentleman  in 
Philadelphia,  who  was  applied  to  some  months 
ago,  to  obtain  information  respecting  the  sewers 
in  that  city.  "  I  have  understood  that,  by  a  for- 
mer regulation  of  a  certain  part  of  this  city,  the 
expense  of  filling  up  the  ground  would  have 
amounted  to  at  least  %  300,000,  and  which  would 


57 


have  fallen  upon  the  proprietors  of  the  land,  to 
obviate  which  three  culverts  were  constructed  last 
year  of  the  following  dimensions  : 

"  One  of  them  870  feet  in  length,  6  feet  in  diameter  clear. 

Anotherof them 767   ..  ..      5   ..         ..  ..and 

Another  of  them  780  .,  ..      4  .. 

44  The  whole  expense  of  these  amounted  to  ten 
thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars  and 
ninety-eight  cents,  including  four  inlets,  which  cost 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each." 

The  expense  of  sewers  may  also  be  rendered 
greater  than  is  necessary,  if  they  are  built  by  con- 
tractors who  make  as  great  bargains  out  of  the 
corporation  as  are  said  to  be  sometimes  made  by 
those  who  contract  for  filling  up  streets.  If  a  man 
engages  to  fill  a  certain  street  for  twelve  and  a 
half  cents  per  load,  and  then  hires  cartmen  to  do 
it  at  the  rate  of  from  three  to  eight  cents,  the 
contractor  makes  clear  gain  of  a  large  proportion 
of  the  money  which  is  assessed  upon  the  proprie- 
tors of  lots  on  each  side  of  the  street.  And  it  is 
not  easy  to  give  a  good  reason  why  the  cartmen 
themselves  should  not  be  hired  immediately  by 
the  corporation,  and  a  person  employed  to  over- 
look them,  and  at  least  half  the  expense  be  thus 
saved  to  the  landholders. 

An  objection  is  sometimes  raised  against  paying 
the  expenses  of  public  works  out  of  the  public 
funds,  upon  the  ground  that  it  would  not  be  just 
towards  those  who  have  already  borne  the  whole 

8 


58 


weight  of  assessments  for  public  improvements 
made  in  the  vicinity  of  their  property,  to  oblige 
them  now  to  bear  any  part  of  the  expenses  for 
works  by  which  their  property  is  not  immediately 
benefited.  To  this  it  may  be  replied ;  That,  if  the 
principle  upon  which  the  first  assessments  were 
levied  was  unjust  and  oppressive,  it  cannot  be  right 
to  continue  injustice  and  oppression  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  the  whole  community  suffer  equal- 
ly. Rather  let  those  who  have,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, been  unfairly  treated  receive  such  remu- 
neration, or  be  permitted  to  enjoy  such  immuni- 
ties, as  to  set  them  upon  an  equality  with  their 
fellow  citizens.  If  equality  is  to  be  attained,  let 
it  be  done  by  compensating  the  injured,  not  by 
extending  oppression  to  those  who  have  not  yet 
suffered. 

It  is  sometimes  urged  in  favour  of  the  levelling 
plan,  that  it  renders  the  city  more  convenient  for 
commercial  purposes ;  that  cartmen  can  transport 
their  loads  with  more  ease  to  their  horses,  and 
with  more  rapidity,  over  level  ground  than  over 
that  which  is  uneven.  The  writer  of  this  state- 
ment is  as  much  disposed  to  show  mercy  to  brute 
animals  as  any  of  those  persons  can  be  who  offer 
this  reason  for  altering  the  face  of  the  earth.  But 
supposing  that  the  whole  of  this  city  is  to  be  regu- 
lated for  commercial  purposes,  which  no  one,  it  is 
to  be  presumed,  can  think  necessary  or  proper,  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  the  time  saved  to  the 


59 


cartmen,  and  labour  spared  to  their  horses,  would, 
if  any  thing,  be  a  very  small  fraction  in  the  amount 
of  commercial  advantages  enjoyed  by  this  city. 
For,  the  length  of  time  required  to  ascend  an  emi- 
nence is  usually  compensated  by  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  descent  is  made.  And  it  is  well  known 
that  horses  are  more  fatigued  by  drawing  a  load 
upon  even  ground  than  upon  that  whose  irregula- 
rity of  surface  obliges  them  to  vary  the  action  of 
their  muscles.  But,  after  all,  no  one  pretends 
that  the  eminences  in  the  business  parts  of  a  city 
should  be  so  great  as  to  offer  any  real  obstruction 
to  the  pursuits  of  industry.  It  is  only  contended 
that  private  rights  ought  not  to  be  invaded  and 
public  money  expended  to  attain  supposed  advan- 
tages which  have  not  been  found  necessary  to  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  any  of  the  oldest  and 
greatest  cities  in  the  world.  We  have  in  this 
country  an  overweening  conceit  of  our  own  supe- 
riority to  the  rest  of  mankind ;  which,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  will  eventually  not  only  render  us,  in  many 
instances,  extremely  ridiculous,  but  will  tend  to  re- 
tard our  progress  in  all  kinds  of  improvement.  Too 
many  of  us  think  that  we  have  no  need  of  the  expe- 
rience of  former  times  and  of  other  countries  in  any 
thing  which  we  undertake ;  but  that  the  native  vi- 
gour of  our  genius  is,  unassisted,  to  strike  out  inven- 
tions superior  to  all  that  ever  before  entered  into 
the  mind  of  man.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  rational 
and  considerate  person  to  manifest  a  decided  dis- 


60 


approbation  of  this  vapouring  spirit,  which  too  of- 
ten betrays  the  youth  and  inexperience  of  our 
highly  favoured  country. 

Far  be  it  from  the  writer  of  these  pages  to  wish 
to  excite  any  disrespect  for  the  constituted  autho- 
rities of  the  city.  But  where  it  is  believed  that 
in  the  constitution  and  exercise  of  any  public 
authority  a  radical  and  dangerous  defect  exists,  it 
is  plainly  the  duty  of  every  man  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  have  that  defect  remedied.  That  such 
is  the  case  in  the  present  instance,  will  hardly  be 
denied  by  any  one  who  takes  into  one  view  the  cir- 
cumstances detailed  in  the  course  of  the  preced- 
ing pages. 

Proprietors  of  real  estate  on  this  island  are  sub- 
ject to  the  will  of  a  corporation  invested  with  for- 
midable and  unprecedented  powers.  To  the  un- 
limited control  of  that  corporation  are  committed, 
by  law,  the  most  important  and  expensive  regula- 
tions of  ground,  which  are  not  yet  ascertained  and 
determined.  From  the  nature  and  constitution  of 
that  body,  it  is  morally  impossible  that  it  can  be 
competent  to  the  performance  of  this  difficult  and 
important  duty;  and,  supposing  the  members  of 
that  body  competent,  it  is  not  safe  to  trust  them 
with  such  a  duty,  because  they  are  not  always 
disinterested  persons — The  corporation  must,  of 
necessity,  depend  upon  their  street-commissioner, 
for  the  plans  to  be  adopted ;  and  thus  the  entire 
control  of  the  landed  property  on  this  island,  in 


61 


fact,  resides  with  one  individual,  who  must  natu- 
rally be  supposed  to  have  the  ear  of  his  own  em- 
ployers— The  business  of  devising  plans  would 
alone  be  too  much  for  any  ordinary  man ;  but,  in 
addition  to  this,  the  street-commissioner  has  other 
duties  which  are  sufficient  to  employ  his  whole 
time  and  attention.  It  has  also  been  shown  that 
the  actual  results  from  this  state  of  things  are, — 
The  utmost  uncertainty,  throughout  the  communi- 
ty, with  respect  to  the  future  condition  of  property 
to  which  the  regulations  of  the  corporation  have  not 
yet  reached,  as  well  as  of  some  of  that  also  which 
has  been  regulated  ;  the  adoption  of  plans  involv- 
ing an  enormous  expense  to  individuals,  and  a  dan- 
gerous encroachment  upon  the  rights  of  property ; 
plans,  too,  which,  upon  farther  examination,  prove 
to  be  unnecessary,  and  in  favour  of  which,  the 
strongest  reason  appears  to  be,  the  peculiar  ideas 
of  beauty  and  convenience  entertained  by  the  in- 
ventors of  them.  The  proprietors  of  land  beyond 
the  paved  streets  know  not  how  to  regulate  their 
ground ;  nor  on  what  level  to  build ;  they  dare 
not  apply  to  the  corporation  to  have  the  regula- 
tions made,  lest  the  expense  should  be  greater 
than  the  value  of  their  land ;  and  because,  if  a 
regulation  be  determined  upon  by  the  corporation, 
even  that  is  no  security  against  its  being  changed, 
at  a  future  time,  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  street- 
commissioner,  or  some  member  or  members  of  the 
board. 


62 


In  whatever  way  the  subject  here  presented  be 
viewed,  it  appears  to  be  one  not  only  of  immediate 
and  vital  importance  to  the  owners  of  landed  pro- 
perty, but  tending  to  consequences  of  the  greatest 
moment  to  every  individual  who  holds  any  stake 
in  society.  If  a  public  body  be  invested  by  law 
with  power  to  invade  private  property,  without 
even  the  tyrant's  plea  of  necessity ;  if  that  body 
be  found,  in  fact,  thus  to  exercise  the  power  com- 
mitted to  them ;  and  if  the  community  still  remain 
passive  under  this  legalized  overthrow  of  the  main 
foundation  upon  which  civilized  society  is  built, 
we  are,  as  respects  our  property,  the  veriest  slaves 
that  now  exist  upon  the  globe ;  we  are  slaves  to 
our  own  servants,  and  self-devoted  victims  to  the 
cruelty  of  our  own  laws.  We  know  not  the 
amount  nor  the  extent  of  oppression  which  may  be 
yet  reserved  for  us.  In  the  midst  of  unexampled 
freedom,  we  behold  a  monstrous  tyranny.  A  ty- 
ranny erected  and  sanctioned  by  the  authority  of 
public  law ;  a  cold-blooded  murder  of  some  of  our 
unquestionable  rights. 

In  the  name,  then,  of  justice,  of  humanity  and  of 
common  sense,  let  all  who  feel  for  themselves  or 
for  their  fellow  men,  unite  in  vindication  of  those 
rights,  upon  the  due  maintenance  of  which  the 
freedom  and  the  prosperity  of  individuals  and  of 
sdtiety  depend. 


FINIS. 


